Defense Begins Case in Multi-Defendant Trial 

By Adriana Marroquin - May 10, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Juveniles | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

On May 8, defense attorneys for six defendants began arguing their case in a three month long homicide trial. 

Gregory Taylor, 27, Quentin Michals, 25, Qujuan Thomas, 24, Darrise Jeffers, 23, Isaiah Murchison, 22, and Marquell Cobbs, 21, are six of 10 defendants charged with first-degree murder, criminal street gang affiliation, conspiracy, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, assault with intent to kill, and other charges regarding a fatal drive-by shooting that resulted in 10-year-old Makiyah Wilson’s death. The shooting happened on the 300 block of 53rd Street, NE on July 16, 2018. 

Errin Scialpi, defense attorney for Michals, questioned the defendant’s ex-girlfriend about her delayed plans with Michals on the day of the homicide. 

She said they were supposed to get together after she got off work that afternoon. At around 9:00 p.m., she alerted Michals, through text, that she was running behind. She then asked him to pick her up late in the evening to spend the night together. 

Michals, she said, picked her up after 11 p.m., in a car with a driver she didn’t know.

However, she admitted she had no clue what Michals had been doing throughout the day of the murder since she was at work. 

Following the testimony of this witness, Michals’ attorneys rested their case. 

Taylor’s attorney, Jonathan Zucker, questioned Taylor’s former music manager about his involvement in Taylor’s music career in the years leading up to his arrest. 

Theodore Pigford, 26, better known as “30 Glizzy,” was Taylor’s rapping partner. Pigford was shot and killed in Baltimore in September 2017.

According to the witness, he only worked with 30 Glizzy and Taylor, whose stage name is “Gizzle.” He helped sell their image based on what their audiences liked and what they would pay for. 

Gizzle released various songs and mixtapes, and collaborated with various rappers who perform in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. 

In cross examination, prosecutors asked about the content of Taylor’s music videos, which portray various guns, wads of money, and sometimes narcotics. Several of his co-defendants made appearances on these videos. 

According to the witness, the props in these videos could be fake, as the rappers are only trying to sell a “gangster” image to their audience. 

When questioned about the relevance of this witness, Zucker said his testimony showed that Taylor portrayed himself as a gangster to get a bigger audience, and that a lot of the statements made by the defendants and mentioned by prosecutors were only song lyrics. 

All parties are expected back in court on May 10 to continue defense’s arguments.